Fear, more often than laziness, is the cause of procrastination.

“We begin to work only when the fear of doing nothing at all exceeds the fear of not doing it very well … And that can take time.”

Sure, there are times when laziness is the reason for not getting something done, but more often the root of procrastination is fear, says British philosopher and author Alain de Botton on his website, The Book of Life.

“The only way to overcome this habit, is to abandon the accompanying habit of perfectionism. ”

“Instead of wasting time planning around and preparing for your project, find a way to begin it.”

“… to procrastinate less means overcoming that fear of not being able to do it exactly how we want it to be done (perfectionism). It means just doing it. An imperfectly done task is better than an unfinished task.”